The invention concerns a fuse for low spin or non-spinning projectiles with a recoiling system for controlling a detonator carrier.
A fuse of the above-mentioned type is known from German Pat. No. 31 07 110 which discloses a safety device for a fuse of high-spin projectiles wherein a recoil bolt system is carried by the detonator-carrying rotor. Upon the firing of a projectile, a first recoil bolt carried by the rotor is moved rearwardly against the pressure of a spring. A ball normally resting against a cone of a second recoil bolt is cammed thereby against an opposing cone of the now-retracted first recoil bolt, whereupon rearward movement of the second recoil bolt is permitted in order to unlock the rotor. The spring at the first recoil bolt locks the recoil bolt system in the live position by jamming the ball between the cone of the first recoil bolt and a portion of the second recoil bolt. In response to the centrifugal forces generated by the high-speed spin of the projectile, the rotor is then caused to rotate to a live position.
In the case of a low-spin or non-spin projectile, however, centrifugal force cannot be relied upon for imparting movement to the rotor. Although a spring of some sort could be used to achieve that result, a spring which exerts a continuous bias (i.e., a constant potential energy) against the rotor would adversely affect the safety aspect of the fuse, since the fuse would be moved by the spring to a live position in response to being unlocked regardless of whether such unlocking was caused by a firing of the projectile or a malfunction of the locking mechanism.
Based on this state of the art, it is an object of the invention to satisfy the fundamental requirement of a fuse of this type, i.e., to avoid the use of potential energy.